Blogs

Before you can ring a barn owl chick you must first catch it and the roof space of the Havergate tractor shed is not the most accessible of nest sites!!

My colleague Paul Donald has recently written this commentary which is a précis of his (and others) previous work discussing skewed sex ratios in adult birds. The implications for bird populations where one sex heavily outnumbers the other in adult populations are obvious, but what are the...

It’s easy to forget that you don’t have to travel halfway around the world, to somewhere like the Serengeti, to see an amazing wildlife spectacle. At this time of year, there is little to rival the raucous clamour of a breeding seabird colony - and the UK plays host to some of the world’s...

Sadly, I have not had the time to write much about Boyton marshes of late but that doesn’t mean its not worth a visit. There are at least 12 pairs of avocets nesting on the summer flash with astonishing numbers of chicks around. It must be one of the best sites to see chicks anywhere...

15 May 2011: Xerox lagoon, Blacktoft Sands. The BH Gull breeding season is in full swing on the Xerox lagoon island. Soon there will be chicks -maybe again, like last year, a food source for the Marsh Harriers? Nature is so cruel, isn't it!

Hi everyone, We've been doing lots of work this year to keep an eye on how well Saltholme's breeding lapwings are doing. Here's Peter on what Toby, Saltholme's assistant warden, and volunteers have been up to ... Along with a team of volunteers, Toby has been surveying the lapwing...

Hi everyone, You'll remember me blogging about the first avocet watch event way back at the beginning of April. Well the second one is almost here - with some new arrivals who are definitely worth seeing. Saltholme has teamed up with Natural England to give you the chance to see these beautiful...

This Sunday is International Dawn Chorus Day , an annual celebration of the beauty of birdsong. To mark the occasion we’re running lots of special guided dawn chorus events at our reserves up and down the country. To get the full effect you’ll need to set your alarm alarmingly early, but...

There are lots of eggs about at the moment. Lots of chocolate eggs, painted eggs and those random bits of eggshells you find in your garden or on the street. What are they doing there? Why would a bird leave an eggshell lying around? Empty shells at the nest could attract the attention of predators...

Hi everyone, I've been lucky enough to have had a few days away, so sorry for things being quiet on the blog front. If there were any doubts that spring had arrived, they've surely gone now. Adam, who works in Saltholme's visitor centre, took this photo of some toad spawn in one of...

Hi, i have a pair of Mandarin ducks which did not breed last year. I am hoping that they will breed this year as its their 2nd year although i'm not to sure they have attempted to breed or not. I have them on growers pellets and i have a nest box installed. Any advice as to captive bred Mandarins...

Hi everyone, (I just had to add in this picture that Alyson took of four avocets at Greatham Creek!) We love avocets at the RSPB. They don't breed at Saltholme quite yet - but they do breed just up the road at Greatham Creek, at what we hope will be become the most northerly breeding avocet...

As spring gathers pace there is a tangible sense of anticipation as to what may be around each corner - both actual and metaphorical. Birds are arriving daily from their wintering grounds, adding distinctive voices to the ever building choir of the dawn chorus, while eager stems and flowers are painting...

just to the right of the pic this is called swan island where swans have been breeding for the last 10 years or so in bangor on dee north wales

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaPqCMIuEk4 This clip shows that the German media are investigating what appears to be military spraying of chemicals into our skies. This is what I was worried about!!

A pair of collared doves has built a nest in a large conifer alongside my coachhouse which has an old netball ring on it that they love to use as a perch. Unfortunately I think they are struggling to breed as squirrels are taking the eggs. I have started to build a basic dovecote which I thought I could...

14 April 2010. Taken from Marshlands Hide. Even in poor light, the bright red legs of this bird in breeding colours shone out

Thanks for the info. I do have water in a large dish for the birds but they do use the pond for drinking,large birds from the edge and smaller ones from the plant baskets in the pond. The fence has only recently been replaced so will be putting in more shrubs and climbers this year! My neighbour...

Hi Barny - i would say that was fairly typical, but we'd obviously hope for more success....not all the eggs are always fertile (great tits typically lay between 7 and 9 eggs, and usually only one brood per season. The largest and strongest young will outcompete the weaker ones and the adults will...

This year for the 1st time, we have 2 pairs of robins nesting in our gardens. We have 1 pair in our front hedge & the other in 1 of our nest boxes. There are at least 2 chicks in the next box. We have been watching them coming to the feeders all day.